''Abies firma'', the momi fir, is a species of
fir native to central and southern
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, growing at low to moderate altitudes of 50–1600 m.
''Abies firma'' is a medium-sized to large
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
coniferous tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
growing to tall and in trunk diameter, with a broad conical crown of straight branches rising at an angle of about 20° above horizontal. The
bark is scaly grey-brown, with resin blisters on young trees. The shoots are grooved, buff to grey-brown, glabrous or finely pubescent. The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
("needles") are flattened, long and broad, spread at nearly right angles from the shoot; the apex is sharp, bifid (double-pointed) on the leaves of young trees, single-pointed on mature trees. They are bright green above, and greyish-green below with two broad
stomatal bands. The
cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are long by wide, green maturing yellow-brown, tapering to a broad bluntly rounded apex. The scale bracts are exserted , triangular. The
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s are long with a wedge-shaped wing long, are released after the cones disintegrate at maturity in October.
Momi fir is sometimes, but not commonly, used as an
ornamental tree
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
, particularly in warm temperate regions with hot, humid summers such as the southeastern
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is also used as a grafting understock for fir
cultivars
A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...
in these areas.
References
*
Gymnosperm Database
External links
Conifers Around the World: Abies firma - Momi Fir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abies firma
firma Firma may refer to:
* Firma, Missouri, a ghost town in the United States
* Firma (supporter group), a Serbian football fan club
*''Firma'', a monthly magazine supplement to the ''Globes (newspaper)'' newspaper
* ''Firma'' (TV series), a 2005 Finni ...
Endemic flora of Japan
Trees of Japan
Least concern plants